The Thanaton Syndrome

Chapter Twelve

Seth felt as if he'd only slept a few seconds before he awoke to a rough shoving on his shoulder.

"Up Outlander, we have work to do." Seth forced his eyes open and found himself face to face with Peter.

"Too early." He attempted to roll back over with a groan, but Peter stopped him.

"Time to get up, boy. We've got fighting lessons, before anyone else wakes up."

"Fighting lessons?" Seth sat up and rubbed his eyes. "You're teaching me how to fight?"

"You'll never make it to Fangalia at this rate. We've been attacked already twice in one day."

"Yeah, I need to help." Seth swung himself out of bed, fighting back the lingering drowsiness. He glanced at Jeremiah sleeping across him, random woodland creatures sprawling around and on top of him as they slept.

"Not yet, you don't," Peter said sharply. "I can only teach you basics of swordplay, for a last resort."

Seth almost argued, but knew it was no use. He'd hadn't known Peter long, but he already knew he couldn't sway him easily.

They went off to a spot outside the tent circle, where they wouldn't wake anyone up. The sun had only just begun to peek up over the mountains in the distance, the morning air making Seth shiver. He didn't care about the cold, though. His excitement for learning how to fight had grown to a peak, and he listened eagerly to Peter's every word.

Peter found some long branches for practicing, and said, "We don't have time in the next couple weeks to cover the ins and outs of sword fighting. I can only teach you enough to get by, and the fastest way to learn is simply to practice. You need to practice sword fighting a lot, and then you'll improve. I'll spar with you every morning I can, and soon enough you may even practice with Jeremiah or Piper."

He looked at Seth for a split second, then said, "Let's begin." He swung the branch, hitting Seth's hip.

"Ow, what'd you--"

"Defend yourself, boy!"

Seth stuck his branch up to barely block another hit from Peter. He tried to protest, but the man would not hear it. He continued swinging and slashing at Seth, who did everything he could to block the blows.

He failed numerous times, cursing and groaning whenever Peter hit him. He succeeded too, though, getting excited every time he went on a streak without getting hit. Simply going through the actions taught him how to hold the branch so it felt comfortable, and he got used to different ways of blocking and patterns in Peter's attacks.

They went on and on and on. Seth wanted to try going for the offensive, but found himself so busy deflecting, blocking and moving out of the way that he never got the opportunity.

He didn't know how long they'd been going when beads of sweat dotted his forehead. He began to feel his muscles give way, and his body ached where Peter had hit him. He pushed on as long as he could go, and almost called out for a break when Peter himself called them to a stop.

He hadn't broken a sweat at all, and only panted a little. As Seth struggled to catch his breath, Peter said, "You don't stand a chance in a real battle, but you'll get there. Wait till I really go hard on you."

Seth looked up in surprise before managing to conceal it. He'd thought Peter was going at him with full speed. Peter caught the look, though, and huffed in what seemed equivalent to a chuckle. "I wouldn't go all out on our first practice, Outlander. Now, better hurry and help pack up. We'll do this again tomorrow."

The sun lit up the whole camp now, and most people milled about, packing and eating breakfast. Spencer directed the progress, showing no signs from the previous night's battle. When he saw Seth, he smiled and gave a small nod. Seth thought he might come to talk to him, but someone tapped on the boy's shoulder and asked for help with something.